Your voice shouldn’t change, unless you change your brand. It’s one of the key ways that people know you and recognize what you’re about. Having a consistent voice makes your brand feel more authentic.

Your tone might change all the time depending on what’s happening, how you want people to feel and who you’re talking to. For example, in an error message, you might adopt a helpful, patient tone or show concern. On a landing page about a new feature, you might want to show excitement, or maybe even a sense of humor.

You probably don’t want to come off as excited or funny when someone’s getting tripped up by your system, unless there’s a well thought out and compelling reason.

Think about your business as something human that exists in the world and has a personality. If you know your brand and can reflect it by using a consistent voice, you’ll feel more real to your customers and people tend to care more about stuff that feels real.